MyGolfSpy’s 10 Most Wanted Golf Courses – Florida

The Best Courses You Can Actually Play

Our mission is to inform and protect the golf consumer.  Up until this point on MyGolfSpy our data-driven or #DataCratic as we like to call it “Most Wanted” Series has been based on hard and soft goods.  Mostly things you can buy.  Today that changes.  We’re always pushing to improve how we work, looking for ways to use the newest technology in media to deliver our content and messages to today’s golfers wants and needs.

You have spoke up and told us you would like us to also review golf courses so today we are going to do just that for you.  We will begin by ranking the Top-10 courses in the Top 10 Golf States.  We will conclude this with the “Top 100 Most Wanted Golf Courses in The US.”

We begin with Florida.

Florida isn’t just home to more than 1000 golf courses, it’s home to some of the very best golf courses in the entire United States. Sawgrass, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill, and of course, the new and expanding Streamsong Resort are just a few of the reasons golfers have to visit The Sunshine State.

From resort courses like those found at Reunion and Disney, to world class courses well off the beaten path, there’s plenty of golf to choose from in Florida. We want to help you narrow your destinations to only the very best courses in the state.

To build our list of  the Most Wanted Golf Courses in Florida we used our #DataCratic process and stats from our partners at the TheGrint, a golf handicap and stat tracking service, whose extensive database contains more than 120,000 golf course reviews submitted by average golfers like you.  Everything we do and say has a foundation on cold, hard data.  Our conclusions are always based on the facts and the numbers.

Our rankings are comprised exclusively of courses you can actually play. No memberships required, everything on our list is accessible to the general public.

Here are the 10 Most Wanted Golf Courses in Florida.

#1 Streamsong Resort (Blue)

“With its multiple elevation changes, fairways navigating wild grasses and deep-water ponds, and huge bunkers that roll off of towering sand dunes, Streamsong Blue seems designed by discovery rather than by intention. Created by Renaissance Golf Design’s renowned architect Tom Doak—who already has four designs ranked among the top 100 in the world—Streamsong Blue is equally destined for golfing greatness. It features spectacular terrain, with rises and falls in elevation, and contours that undulate.”

#2 Streamsong Resort (Red)

“Simply put, Streamsong Red is like nothing you’ve ever played. Designed by the legendary team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw—architects of five designs in the Top 100 in the United States—Streamsong Red is an 18-hole masterpiece. With its 419 Bermuda Grass fairways winding through decades-old sand dunes, lakes, and natural bunkers, Streamsong ‘is naturally conducive to uncovering great golf holes,’ says Crenshaw, who himself is a two-time PGA Masters Champion.

#3 Bay Hill Club & Lodge

“Open only to Club members and registered guests staying at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, the breathtaking course sweeps across 270 acres along the shores of the Butler Chain of Lakes. The Champion, Challenger and Charger links feature 27 holes of tour championship golf, a challenging though fair test for both professionals and amateurs alike.”

#4 Turnberry Isle (Soffer Course)

“Originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Turnberry Isle Miami’s 18-hole championship courses – The Soffer and Miller Courses – have been re-interpreted by golf icon Raymond Floyd. With contoured fairways, clever doglegs, rolling greens, perfectly carved bunkers, strategically placed water features and a variety of elevation changes to challenge and enthrall casual golfers and enthusiasts alike, Turnberry Isle Miami is a showcase of the best in Florida golf.”

#5 Grand Cypress (New Course)

“The New Course is Jack Nicklaus’ tribute and homage to the famed Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. This Scottish links masterpiece is complete with double greens, stone bridges and walls, gorse mounds, burns, and pot bunkers as deep as 12 feet.”

#6 TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course)

“Players find a selection of short, medium and long holes within the categories of par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; both right and left doglegs; and a course routing laid out so no two consecutive holes ever play in the same direction. With its signature island green on the par-3, 17th hole being one of the most recognized in golf, this legendary track has captured the imagination of golf fans all over the world and is consistently named among the top golf courses worldwide.”

#7 World Woods Golf Club (Pine Barrens)

“Named for the many pine trees that line its length, the acclaimed layout is sculpted from an expansive pine forest with surprising and dramatic changes in elevation. The large manicured fairways framed by expansive untamed waste bunkering create a unique golf experience. The course’s style has been compared to that of Pine Valley in New Jersey – the consensus No. 1 course in the world. Pine Barrens offers many intimidating, yet, enjoyable holes.”

#8 Sarasota National Golf Club

“The major summer renovation project on the golf course will give players a new perspective on how to play the layout. All 110 bunkers were renovated with glistening white sand, which will challenge even the very best of players. As always, the immaculate TifEagle greens have been professionally maintained and groomed for some of best playing surfaces in southwest Florida.”

#9 World Golf Village (King and Bear)

“When these two Hall of famers put aside their legendary rivalry, they created a beautiful, challenging, and truly remarkable golf course in St Augustine Florida. Measuring 7,279 yards from the stone tees and 5,119 yards from the green tees, this course is sure to challenge the skilled golfer while providing player-friendly conditions for the novice. This is a “driver’s” course, which should come as no surprise as both Palmer and Nicklaus wielded awesome power games in their primes. You’ll also experience the wide fairways of Nicklaus and the fast greens of Palmer.”

#10 Reunion Resort (Palmer)

“Innovatively routed on hilly, roller coaster-like terrain, Arnold Palmer’s 6,916 yard, par 72 Signature Course boasts dramatic elevation changes – up to 50 feet in some places – creating a unique variety of risk/reward shots.”

Full Rankings